ISSUE DATE SEPTEMBER27,1999

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Saba Naqvi Bhaumik

December 25, 2000

ISSUE DATE: December 25, 2000

UPDATED: December 25, 2000 00:00 IST

THE 'ATAL' BIHARI

Laloo's rhetoric for poll '99 is solemn, fewer jokes. "Either the poor will survive or the rich. This isn't an election but war." The pitch: I'm the messiah of the poor who has given you a voice. The BJP-Janata "Jantu (animal)" Dal is a gang of vested interests-" woh air-condition wale hai". It's easy to see why Laloo has such a rapport with people. He's one of them. In an age of high security, he mingles in the crowd without a care. When the crowd chants, "Laloo kaka zindabad," he laughs. "They've increased my age. Earlier, I was Laloo bhaiyya." When he sees an elephant, Laloo steps down from his Garib Chetna Rath, climbs the animal and raises a lantern-his election symbol. The crowd is ecstatic. After nearly a decade at the helm, Laloo still remains the pivot around whom Bihar politics revolves.

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